Café De’ Mercanti

Description

Gianni Battista was born in Montreal and moved to Italy with his family when he was 10 years old. He spent 18 years in Sermoneta, Latina where he worked as a barista for 9 years in his friend’s cafe called Caffe de’ Mercanti. This cafe was the busiest cafe in town and Gianni loved working there. It was noisy and busy and cheerful. He learned to make coffee, serve customers and deal with thecrowds in the busy summer months.

In 2008, he decided that Montreal was his true home and moved back to his native country. He always felt that the city lacked an authentic Italian coffee shop and was on the hunt for a great location to rent in the city.

In August of 2012 he opened up Cafe de’ Mercanti in NDG in the hopes of giving Montrealers a real taste of Italian coffee culture.

He named it after his friend’s cafe in Italy as a tribute to the cafe that sadly had to close its doors in June of 2012. He brought a little piece of Italy to Montreal and both worlds were forever merged. In 2015 Gianni opened up a second location in Old Montreal.Different neighbourhood but the same product and atmosphere as the NDG location.

Cafe de’ Mercanti is a neighbourhood cafe. Gianni knows all his customers and what kind of coffee they drink. His regulars don’t even have to order…he knows what they want andhow they want it! Some people drop by 3-4 times a day. Others have become friends.

For Gianni, coffee shops are a social place and an integral part of the community. “I like interacting with people. Hearing their stories”. He really wanted to bring the Italian “bar” culture to Montreal where people stop in for a quick coffee, have a chat with the barista or the person standing next to them at the counter and then go about their day.

There is no wifi at Cafe de Mercanti because Gianni wants people to talk to one another rather than stare at their computers. In fact, many of Mercanti’s clients are now friends because of their interactions at the cafe.

The people who work at Mercanti are family members and friends. They are like a family. This is also important to Gianni because it creates a great vibe in the cafe and there is a lot of mutual respect among the employees. And of course, it makes it fun to go to work everyday!

Specialties

Coffee

Every type of coffee beans requires a specific roasting temperature and duration. We produce our own home blend from a mix of coffee beans specifically chosen by Gianni. It is an art to select a combination of beans to create the perfect blend and bring out a unique flavor.